Hey guys, it’s Greg with Apple Explained,
and today we’re going to explore the history of the MacBook. This topic was the second place winner of
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which video you’d like to see next. So, the first MacBook was released in 2006,
but it’s worth talking a little bit about the history of notebooks in general before
diving in. As early as the 70’s, engineers were looking
for ways to bring the power of a computer into a smaller, more portable form. Almost every computer engineer had their own
approach, and some were more successful than others. One of the first portable computers was the
Xerox NoteTaker – it had a built-in monitor, floppy drive, keyboard, and mouse. Although there were only ten prototypes of
the NoteTaker ever made, it’s debut in the late 70’s influenced a whole new generation
of transportable computers. One of the next most influential was the Osborne
1 in 1981, which included bundled software, a modem port, and two floppy drives – coming
in at a whopping $1795, that’s almost $5,000 today adjusted for inflation. The Osborne 1 is considered by many to be
the first real portable computer – and it helped create a demand among businesses for
that type of machine. A few years later, the Grid Compass was released
and introduced the “clamshell” design – which is still the standard notebook form
factor used today. Now by the time Apple entered the portable
computer market, there were already quite a few options on the market. In 1989 they released the Macintosh Portable,
and then the Powerbook series in 1991. By the end of the 90’s, Apple had a pretty
substantial amount of products on the market – but it was clear there was at least one
niche that the company still hadn’t filled. At this time, Apple was adopting a two-by-two
matrix product strategy. Basically, they wanted to offer four computer
models, one desktop for consumers and one desktop for professionals, one notebook for
consumers and one notebook for professionals. Up to this point, Apple had already filled
three of the four categories, and the last computer model to be introduced was the consumer
notebook. Finally, at the 1999 Macworld Conference and
Expo, Steve Jobs announced the iBook, the direct predecessor to the MacBook. There had been rumors of its release for a
while before the announcement, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone – but
nonetheless, the iBook introduced some unique and pretty revolutionary features into the
notebook market. First, the iBook was $1,599 – almost $1,000
cheaper than the most affordable PowerBook at the time. This alone made it accessible to a much wider
range of users, and its specs were just as good as a consumer desktop. The first iBook featured a PowerPC G3 CPU,
and introduced the “Unified Logic Board Architecture” to Mac computers, which condensed
its core features onto only two chips. Another major feature was integrated wireless
networking, also known as WiFi, and the iBook was the only mass produced computer at the
time to have it. So the first iBook was a commercial success. It had a fun, colorful clamshell design with
transparent plastic highlights, an integrated handle, and a lid that shut without a latch. The next generation of the iBook, however,
came with changes that were met with mixed reviews. The first follow up to the iBook was the iBook
G3 Snow. This model was lighter and less bulky, included
an extra USB port, and had a higher resolution display, but it only came in white. And many users preferred the fun colors of
the previous generation. The final iBook model, the G4, also only came
in white, and included a PowerPC G4 chip instead of a G3. While the later two models may have had some
upgrades to their processing power, they were known to be less durable than the original
iBook. Apple faced a lawsuit in 2008 for faulty memory
slots in the G4, and there were widespread complaints about faulty lid latches. Despite these issues, which were pretty minor
in the grand scheme of things, the iBook did well. It was extremely popular in schools, and,
in some districts, an iBook was given to every student. But the iBook model didn’t last forever. In 2006, Apple was in the midst of a major
transition from PowerPC to Intel. Apple was working on re-branding some products
to reflect this change, and it wanted the “Mac” name in its new products. And so, the iBook became the MacBook. And at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco
that January, Steve Jobs announced the MacBook Pro – the first Intel-powered Apple notebook
ever, which replaced the PowerBook G4. So, the first generation of MacBook was a
departure from the iBook in more than just its name. Besides the processor, the MacBook featured
a polycarbonate body that was thinner and lighter than its predecessor. It utilized the new MagSafe power cable that
attached and detached magnetically, a new glossy 13-inch display, sunken keyboard design,
and magnetic latch. It improved on the iBooks WiFi networking
abilities, offered Bluetooth 2.0, and included two USB ports instead of just one. It also came with a built-in iSight camera
that allowed for video recording and a sudden motion detector that would protect the hard
drive if the notebook was dropped. But despite all its new features, the first
MacBook had some problems. First, early models would shut down randomly
due to a firmware issue, which Apple responded to with a firmware update. But then many MacBooks would overheat and
shut down because the graphics card and hard drive ran too hot. Eventually, Apple issued a recall of early
MacBook models because of the issue. In 2008, Apple released the second generation
MacBook. This model borrowed some design cues from
the higher end MacBook Air, since the keyboard was backlit and it featured an aluminum unibody
housing instead of polycarbonate. The trackpad was covered with glass and had
multi-touch capabilities as well as an integrated click button, which meant this was officially
the end of dedicated trackpad buttons. As far as technology inside the MacBook, the
second generation offered some improvements over the first, but it still fell behind the
higher-end MacBook Pro and Air models. Compared to the first MacBook, the second
generation brought a faster graphics chipset and more hard drive storage. But it also did away with the firewire port
which had been on almost every Apple notebook up to that point. And as you might expect, this caused quite
a bit of backlash from the tech community since it made certain tasks like data transfers
a little more complicated. But most casual users didn’t miss the FireWire
port since they never used it anyway. Now, at this point the MacBook was one of
the most popular notebooks in the world. In 2008, it was the single best-selling model,
beating out all other competitors including Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, ASUS, and HP. The MacBook’s success was in part due to
the fact that it was still fairly affordable compared to its competition but offered a
much more attractive design and user experience. The next generation of MacBook was released
in 2009. And Apple decided to reintroduced the polycarbonate
material but this time with a unibody design. It was rounder and thinner than the other
models and it finally addressed one of the biggest cosmetic complaints the MacBook line
had faced so far – greasy palm rests. All of the previous models of MacBook had
received widespread criticism from users for how quickly the palm rests became faded, smeared,
and covered in fingerprints. Apple responded to this issue by featuring
a fingerprint-resistant glossy palm rest that was easier to clean and resistant to fading. This model also included a rubber bottom to
prevent slipping – but the rubber piece tended to peel off and ended up costing Apple
quite a bit of money in free replacements. The company also faced a class-action lawsuit
regarding MacBook power adapters during this period. The introduction of the MagSafe power adapter
was touted by Apple as a revolutionary safety feature – which it was – but they didn’t
hold up well over time. Users complained about the durability of these
adaptors, which could split and fray after a period of normal usage. Apple responded by not only redesigning the
cables, but settling the lawsuit by issuing an adapter-replacement program for U.S. customers. And like previous updates, this model got
some upgrades – and some downgrades. It still included an Intel Core Duo processor,
250 GB hard drive, two USB 2.0 ports, and iSight camera. It had the same pricing as the last generation,
starting at $999, and it was a bit lighter, at 4.7 lbs, and included upgraded Bluetooth
2.1 capabilities. But unfortunately, it didn’t bring back
FireWire, which many people were hoping for – and Apple also eliminated its dedicated
audio input. This wasn’t a very popular move, but other
features like improved display brightness and viewing angle overshadowed the MacBooks
deficits. Now the biggest point of controversy with
the third generation MacBook was its battery. The previous two generations had featured
removable batteries that were estimated to last five hours. And this model had a battery with an estimated
life of seven hours, which was a good improvement – but the battery was no longer removable. And this decision by Apple was met with many
complaints since the claimed seven-hour battery life was thought to be an exaggeration when
outlets like Macworld found that the MacBooks battery only lasted four hours in their testing. Also, many people understood that this model
marked the end of removable and replaceable batteries in Apple notebooks, which meant
replacing your MacBooks battery was about to get much more expensive and inconvenient. Now, in the early 2010’s the standard MacBook
was losing popularity to the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Because of its decline in popularity, Apple
discontinued the line in 2011 for everyone except educators, and discontinued educator
access in February 2012. For three years the MacBook Pro and MacBook
Air were the only notebooks Apple offered – but in 2015, they reinvigorated the MacBook
line with a completely new model. It was a big step up from the original MacBook,
featuring a 12-inch Retina display, new butterfly keyboard mechanism, a USB-C port, an Intel
Core M processor, a force touch trackpad, and Bluetooth 4.2. It also featured an unbelievably thin and
light aluminum design, and it came in four colors; silver, space gray, gold, and rose
gold. This was the first time Apple offered a notebook
in different colors since the original iBook. In response to criticisms about the earlier
model’s battery life, this MacBook model featured a terraced battery that squeezed
in 35% more capacity than previous technology would’ve allowed. Resulting in a full 10 hours of battery life. But all of these new features came at a cost
since this model had the highest price of any prior MacBook, starting at $1,299. Now the biggest problem this model faced had
to do with its keyboard. It had extremely shallow key travel which
meant typing took some getting used to, while some users never truly adjusted to it. But that was only the beginning. The new butterfly mechanism was fragile and
could malfunction if too many crumbs or too much debris entered inside a key cap. And repairing the malfunctioning keyboard
could cost up to $700. Eventually Apple faced a class-action lawsuit
from users who claimed the company knew about the keyboard’s vulnerabilities before it
was released, but chose to do nothing about it. The lawsuit is still ongoing and came to included
MacBook Pro models that shared the same fragile keyboard mechanism. Now I want to talk about a controversy that
has plagued almost all MacBooks models, and it concerns the iSight camera which has been
the target of a serious vulnerability nicknamed iSeeYou. The bug allowed hackers to remotely access
users’ webcams without turning on the green LED light. This meant strangers could watch and record
you whenever your notebook was on without your ever knowing it. The vulnerability came to public attention
in 2013 after Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf received nude photos of herself in an extortion attempt. She discovered that the perpetrator, her high
school classmate, used a Remote Administration Tool to hack into her MacBooks iSight camera. A similar tool was used on MacBooks provided
to students by a Pennsylvania school district in 2008 – which was initially meant to be
an anti-theft protocol, but it ended up causing the school to inadvertently take over 56,000
photos of high school students in the privacy of their own homes. So the MacBook has had quite an eventful past
and its showing no signs of slowing down. Apple has given the MacBook two spec bumps
over the past two years and we can expect a redesign in the near future. It’s already set a new standard for portability
in the notebook computer market, but Apple never rests on their laurels and I’m excited
what they have in store for the next generation. So that’s the history of the MacBook, and
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